PHANTOMS: SEASON-IN-REVIEW AND OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms finished their inaugural season in Allentown, PA with a 33-35-7-1 record, placing 13th in the American Hockey League's 15-team Eastern Conference. The team was actually quite competitive in the first half of the season. At one point in early January, the team was two points away from overtaking the eventual East Division champion Hershey Bears for first place. Thereafter, a continued slew of injuries and NHL callups started to take a heavy toll on head coach
Terry Murray's club.
The Phantoms sank from playoff contention in the second half. They went 14-22-3-0 over their final 39 games after posting a 19-13-4-1 mark over the first 37 games. The team took too many penalties, found itself depleted defensively and lacked scoring depth.
On a teamwide basis, the Phantoms averaged just 2.55 goals per game while yielding 3.12 (an overall 237-194 margin, including a 127-151 disparity an even strength). The Phantoms' goaltenders were frequently bombarded with rubber, as the club ranked next-to-the-bottom in the league in terms of shots yielded per game. The team was middle-of-the-pack in shots and chances generated but the overall difference was a noticeable deficit in puck possession and there were too few players who displayed finishing ability.
On other levels, the Phantoms were a big success in their first year in Allentown. The facilities at the PPL Center are first-rate and nearly NHL caliber. That aided in aspects such as proper training and conditioning, as well as instilling a message that the Flyers' organization cares about their development.
The close proximity of Allentown to Philadelphia enabled Flyers general manager
Ron Hextall, scouting director
Chris Pryor, scout
Al Hill, team president
Paul Holmgren and other prominent voices in the organization to make frequent first-hand trips to the PPL Center. Likewise, developmental coaches
Kjell Samuelsson and
John Riley were able to assist on-ice practices on a frequent basis in conjunction with Murray and assistant coach
Riley Cote.
Prior to leaving the organization in early March, former Flyers goaltending coach
Jeff Reese stayed in working contact with the Phantoms while also performing full-time NHL duties. Scout and former longtime Phantoms starting goaltender
Neil Little also assisted the AHL goalies as his time permitted.
Murray's contract expired at the end of this season. The Flyers organization would like to have him back as Phantoms coach but the soon-to-be 65-year-old's main goal is to return to the NHL level in a coaching capacity. While Murray is not a candidate for the Flyers' head coaching job, he might be asked by the next head coach to take on an assistant coach role.
If that does not materialize, Murray might still have the option of returning to the Phantoms. Highly respected around hockey as a teaching coach, he has enjoyed his tenure with the Phantoms, and several players who have been with him for multiple seasons have seen their games improve enough to be potential NHL roster candidates. Overall, he has rarely had much high-end talent with which to work at the AHL level.
A season of attrition
The 2014-15 Phantoms team had been designed by Flyers general manager to have a corps of veteran professionals to mentor some of the younger players while absorbing many of the tough assignments until the youngsters were ready. It didn't work out that way due to attrition both at the NHL and AHL levels.
Many of the veterans wound up absent from Murray's lineup for a significant amount of time. The players ranged from
Chris VandeVelde (early season NHL callup, rest of the season in the NHL after scoring two goals in the first game of the AHL season),
Darroll Powe (limited by injury to 43 games),
Blair Jones (early season in the NHL, later limited by injury to 33 games, nine goals and 21 points after being a point-per-game player in the AHL in 2013-14),
Brett Hextall (13 games missed due to injury),
Jason Akeson (early season in the NHL, a couple of very brief recalls, 57 AHL games played overall),
Jay Rosehill (three-game AHL suspension, injury, 11 games missed overall),
Brandon Manning (NHL callups and injuries, 16 AHL games missed) and goalie
Rob Zepp (several NHL recalls, brief absence due to a right leg injury, 47 AHL game played).
Likewise, the Phantoms lost a few key younger players for lengthy stretches of the season.
Most notably, highly touted rookie defenseman
Shayne Gostisbehere suffered a partial ACL tear in early November and wound up missing the rest of the season after just five AHL games and two games with the big club. The bright side for the undersized Gostisbehere is that he was able to spend the time away adding considerable muscle to his previously skinny frame. Despite being primarily a speedster and finesse player, the added muscle was much needed for the pro level battles and should benefit him next season.
Second-year pro defenseman
Mark Alt was limited to 44 games due to a separated shoulder and, later,a broken hand. Alt also made his NHL debut when the Flyers needed him as an emergency recall. Alt spent a lot of time this season trying to play catch-up while also being asked to tackle some tough AHL assignments; a tough thing to do.
Player development and team leadership in 2014-15
For much of the season, Manning carried the heaviest load on the blueline. Although his plus-minus numbers weren't pretty (they never have been on generally weak Phantoms teams), Manning's decision-making and overall game continued to improve. He played well in NHL callups while keeping things a bit simpler than he does in the AHL, where he combines a physical element and willingness to frequently drop the gloves with an ability to contribute offensively.
Once again, Mannng was joined by veteran defensive defenseman
Oliver Lauridsen as the most experienced two players on defense. With so many injuries and callups around the lineup, rookie defenseman
Robert Hägg, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Feb. 8, wound up having to absorb a heavier burden than Murray ideally would have liked.
Hägg had an up-and-down campaign, sometimes even within the same game or shift to shift, but the positive side is that the Swede got to play a lot of hockey over the past year between AHL time and a leading role on the Swedish U20 team defense. Because of his high visibility for several years, it is easy sometimes to forget how young he still is.
At the same time, the organization wants to see Hägg take the initiative to set the bar higher for himself as a two-way defenseman. There is plenty of growth potential in every aspect of the game and Hägg at times showed he has other levels to his game to make more impact both defensively and offensively.
Hägg is considered a coachable player who understands and even enjoys structure. However, Hextall made it clear he wants the player, who has a reserved and perhaps even a bit shy personality, to step outside his comfort zone while still playing within a team concept (already a strength).
"If I'm a young defenseman like Robert Hägg and I know Kjell Samuelsson, our development guy is there, I'm picking his brain," Hextall
said to Morning Call beat writer Gary Blockus. "It's a big thing for a club to express interest, but also to invest resources like this shows how important it is to us."
Because of his birth date, being drafted and signed out of Europe and the fact that he spent the entire season at the AHL level, Hägg's entry-level contract remained slide-rule eligible during the 2014-15 season. This also would have been the case if he'd been loaned instead to a European club team for this season while under Flyers' entry-level contract.
Fellow Swedish rookie defenseman
Jesper Pettersson came directly over to North America after being drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL Draft. As a severely undersized defensive defenseman -- albeit one with a deceptively sturdy frame and a high "compete level" -- Pettersson has limited upside. He struggled with his early-season adaption to the North American game and spent significant time as a healthy scratch. Over the latter part of the season, Pettersson started to hold his own and his usage increased.
Rookie center
Scott Laughton started out the season in dominant fashion at the AHL level and earned his first extended NHL look with the Flyers. For a time, it looked like he might even stick for the long haul with the Flyers. A concussion and a downturn in his subsequent play led to the Flyers' 2012 first-round pick being returned to the AHL. He continued to struggle upon getting back to the Phantoms. However, Laughton closed out the season with a few strong weeks reminiscent of his early-season play. Overall, Laughton dressed in 39 of the Phantoms' 76 games.
Fellow rookie forward
Taylor Leier had an occasionally bumpy AHL baptism despite undeniably above-average skating and a work ethic that drew praise from Murray. The 21-year-old winger is still considered a good two-way prospect for an NHL bottom-six role at some point, but likely needs additional seasoning at the AHL level along with defenseman Hägg.
Second-year pro center
Nick Cousins took the biggest leap forward of any Phantoms forward during the 2014-15. A summer spent working on his skating and adding muscle helped him So did a more concerted commitment to keeping his feet moving in game situations.
Cousins led the Phantoms in scoring (56 points) and assists (34) was one goal behind Akeson's 23 for the team lead in that category.Cousins, who will turn 22 in July, earned his first NHL recall in the latter stages of the season. Cousins dressed in 11 games for the Flyers, mostly in a fourth line role, with mixed early results. He played better in his first few games than he did subsequently, and his ice time dropped correspondingly.
Nevertheless, Cousins got a preview of the next steps he must to take in his development. He can still further improve his skating, discipline and 200-foot play if he is to seriously push for an NHL spot in the future but took strides across the board over the last year.
Jason Akeson entered the season with an NHL job to lose. He did not lose it out of training camp but was instead assigned to a fourth-line role after playing on Sean Couturier's line with Matt Read at the tail end of the 2013-14 season and the playoff series against the New York Rangers; a spot that reacquired veteran R.J. Umberger took over to start the 2014-15 season.
In assigning Akeson to fourth-line duties, former Flyers head coach Craig Berube told Akeson to keep his feet moving at all times and play a fundamentally sound game with and without the puck. The Flyers were not pleased with the results. The player proved ill-suited to the role and did not do enough in their opinion to earn another look higher in the lineup. Akeson wound passing through NHL waivers unclaimed and was only recalled again as an emergency extra body.
At the AHL level, Akeson is a proven player. He was only three points off leading the Phantoms in scoring for the fourth straight season, and that was despite dressing in seven fewer games than Cousins. At the AHL level, Akeson triggers the power play and also participates in the penalty kill, in significant part for being a shorthanded scoring threat (three shorthanded goals) and having a quick stick in the passing lanes. Despite his solid AHL production within a few games of his return to the American League level, Akeson moved down the organizational depth chart.
Prior to the season, an NHL pro scout from another organization gave the following assessment of Akeson: "Akeson has NHL hands and vision. He has AHL game without the puck and AHL strength. Feet, strength and game without the puck (work habits) need to improve for him to remain and have impact in the NHL. Basically, if he wants to be in the NHL all he needs is to be committed to it and he will make it. Question is whether he is willing to make that commitment since he hasn't done it over a 3 year span. He deserves a chance and the rest is up to him. Tough to call at this point. My guess would be on the NO side from what I have seen to date, but that could change since he now has a taste of it. Should know by December 1st next season."
Unfortunately for Akeson, the Flyers had their minds made up by late November. Twenty-nine other NHL organizations may have a similar judgment, because he passed through waivers unclaimed despite his relative youth, undeniable offensive vision, hands and relative youth.
A Flyers team source said that Akeson, who will turn 25 on June 3 and is a free agent this summer, simply did not do enough productive things during his time with the big club -- even in a fourth-line role -- to merit being moved up in the lineup on a trial basis or to get a look-see again on the second power play unit.
It was pointed out that veteran
Ryan White (11 games with the Phantoms upon his return from a torn pectoral muscle that caused him to miss the first half of the season) made the most of his lower-end lineup role with the Flyers.
White, who turned 27 in March, even unexpectedly produced six goals and a dozen points in 34 NHL games while bringing speed and gritty energy to the lineup. When
Wayne Simmonds went down with a late-season leg injury, the righthanded-shooting White was even placed on the Flyers' top power play unit as the net-front forward for the rest of the season.
Speaking of unexpected top-unit power play time as a netfront forward, veteran tough guy
Zack Stortini wound up performing that role for the Phantoms for much of the season. That was a large part of the reason why he produced 13 goals and 25 points to go along with his 184 penalty minutes (Rosehill's 219 penalty minutes led the team). He is not a natural finisher by any means but he is big, strong and determined.
Stortini also had an enormously positive dressing room impact on the team. He leads both by example (outstanding work habits, upbeat attitude, willingness to perform any on-ice task, making young players feel like part of the team) and as a calming voice in the locker room. He is also an outstanding community ambassador. Do not be surprised if the Flyers try to re-sign the impending unrestricted free agent to continue in a Phantoms leadership role.
Likewise, personable veteran forward
Andrew Gordon brought a lot of positive-minded leadership to the club to go along with his 18 goals and 42 points in 76 games. Murray talks frequently about the need for young players to learn about professionalism -- which is all about creating a process to follow on a day-in and day-out basis -- and Gordon embodied that along with being eminently approachable.
Actually, the Phantoms had no shortage of true pros on the team.
Blair Jones and
Darroll Powe were limited in what they could do because of their injury issues, but worked very diligently and understood their roles on the club. Brett Hextall brought similar qualities, as well as a feisty physical presence.
Rob Zepp is basically a goaltending version of Gordon in his can-do attitude and tireless work ethic that is backed up by results on the ice at the AHL level. The veteran netminder possesses a likable personality with a good sense of humor off the ice that turns into a highly competitive nature as soon as the puck drops. As a bonus, he is a fan favorite and also well-liked by the media because he offers insight and is a good quote.
From the first day of training camp through the end of the season, Zepp worked hard for his opportunities and was one of the better goalies in the AHL. After playing in Europe and international tournaments for many years, Zepp re-acclimated himself to the small-rink game with little difficulty. The 33-year-old also performed well for the most part when he finally got an NHL opportunity with the Flyers due to Steve Mason's injury issues and a brief period in which neither Mason nor Ray Emery were available to the big club.
Zepp is an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Flyers reportedly would like to have him back in the same role next year as an AHL starter and third NHL option but the decision will be up to the veteran. He will have some options at his disposal coming off a strong 2014-15 season.
Young goaltender
Anthony Stolarz is bright and driven to learn. He has come a very long way in his game since the time he was drafted by the Flyers in the second-round of the 2012 NHL Draft; at which time, he was basically a bundle of raw materials consisting mainly of a big frame, natural athleticism that was completely unrefined and a good head on his shoulders. Back then, he was far too aggressive and frequently took himself way out of position. Since that time, he has made significant progress in his game to the point where he periodic success as an AHL rookie.
However, as far as Stolarz has come in three years, he has just as far still to go before he could be a viable NHL candidate. He still needs technical work across the board to be an NHL caliber goaltender, and is probably still not ready to be the Phantoms number one goaltender entering next year.
There were times during Stolarz's rookie season where he would locked into a good rhythm with improved mechanics and he could look excellent in those bursts. But he hit a wall where he could also fall -- and stay for long periods -- back into areas of weakness he's working to correct. As with many young big-frame goalies, Stolarz has a lot of moving parts that can fall out of synch and leave holes.
Over the long haul, the organization is still high on Stolarz's upside. He's got the work ethic and brains to figure it out and the athleticism to commit it all to muscle memory. However, the process is going to be a long one that could still take multiple future seasons of steady development. This is not uncommon for goaltenders.
The operative word with Stolarz is patience. The Flyers believe in him enough to invest a lot of time and commitment into his development but they know full well it's going to be a long haul just to get him ready for the NHL.
There are no guarantees he'll fully maximize his potential despite his physical upside and mental makeup. He's got a lot of learning to do -- not just polishing and refining -- but there are already flashes of what the finished product could look like when he is in his mid-20s. Keep the handful of games where he shined in mind when picturing the long-term vision; except with much less fluctuation.
Those who expect the 21-year-old Stolarz to be fast-tracked to the NHL could get disappointed in the pacing. There were some Flyers fans who wondered aloud why Zepp got the bulk of the games when available, at one point even starting all three games of a three-in-three weekend set.
The reason was quite simple: Zepp was the better of the two goalies by a significant margin and gave the team a better shot at keeping the score down with a realistic chance to win. Simply rolling out Stolarz in net was not going to magically expedite his development this season. That process is going to play out over countless hours of continued practice on the ice, rigorous summers like the one the New Jersey native put in last year and then gradually into a bigger and bigger workload in game situations.
Let's put it this way: The Flyers' organization was much more encouraged by Stolarz's internal drive than its perception of second-year forward
Petr Straka's progress in taking the recommended next steps in improving the consistency of his game.
Murray said on more than one occasion that Straka needed to dial up his attention to 200-foot detail and willingness to venture into high-punishment/ high-reward areas to match his NHL-caliber skating ability and natural puck skills. Straka is good in shootouts but endured a major drought -- one non-shootout goal after Feb. 20 among his 14 tallies for the season -- when the checking leaguewide got tighter down the stretch.
Straka showed his good skating ability and some offensive creativity during a three-game callup to the Flyers. However, he was bypassed as a candidate for subsequent recalls because the organization wanted to see him first be more consistent at the AHL level, and it didn't happen.
While Straka is a likable and earnest young man with a high degree of self-confidence, he still has to look within to unlock the keys to becoming a viable NHL candidate or even a go-to player on the Phantoms in crunch-time situations. He has been advised and coached on exactly what he needs to do to take the next steps -- using his speed as an asset regularly to find the seams in the opposing defense, being harder on the puck, and competing in high-traffic areas -- but he still too often plays a soft game along the perimeter.
When shootouts role around, however, Straka is already a formidable weapon. He went 3-for-5 in the skills competition this season, and his goals were dandies as he attacked with speed and finished with precision. Combined with goaltender Zepp's shootout prowess (stopping 14 of 18 attempts), the Phantoms lost only once in games that went to a shootout at the end of 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 overtime.
Brandon Alderson is another player who got in the doghouse this season, and wound up at the ECHL level for the Reading Royals. The knock on him is that he does not use his size effectively enough and his compete level dipped from where it was late last season when it seemed like he was getting on track.
Late in the season, the Flyers signed QMJHL overager
Danick Martel (five AHL games) and collegiate senior
Cole Bardreau (15 AHL games) to entry level contracts that kick in for the 2015-16 season. Both players finished out this season on amateur try-out contracts.
The diminutive Martel has blazing speed and is fearless about venturing into the scoring areas. Listed at 5-foot-8, he actually looks a bit closer to the size of the Carolina Hurricanes' Nathan Gerbe, but Martel also has similar moxie. He produced three points in his five games with the Phantoms: two assists plus an empty net goal he scored while keeping his feet moving and staying with the puck while getting tripped by a desperate defender.
Martel merits watching next season. There is a certain "it" factor to the way he plays and his fearlessness that gives him the potential -- there are no guarantees, of course -- that he could become one of those select few pint-sized players who finds an NHL role at some point despite giving up so much size and strength. At the very least, he could become a highly entertaining AHL player for years to come.
Bardreau is not tall or flashy but he is very steady and plays with good attention to detail even as an inexperienced pro-level player. The now-former Cornell forward and Under-20 member of Team USA shows good hockey sense and wins a lot of puck battles. He will not be counted on to be a point producer in the pro game, but does have the ability to eventually chip in a few timely points.
Come next season, the Phantoms roster is likely to look fairly different than the squad that was assembled for 2014-15. Stortini, Gordon, Powe, Hextall, Akeson,Rosehill, Jones, energy line forward
Austin Fyten, Zepp, and Lauridsen are all free agents come July 1. Some of these players will not be back.
Manning was recently signed to a one-way contract to pre-empt unrestricted free agency and will get a shot at an NHL job with the Flyers out of training camp. If he does not stick with the big club, he'd have to clear waivers -- which has previously happened with him -- in order to return to Lehigh Valley.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»